Although Peter Capaldi at 56 is 30 years older than the last incarnation of “Doctor Who” (BBC America, 8:15 p.m.) when he started, there is no reason to think he won’t be one of the best at the game. Already he’s been a standout as foulmouthed Malcolm Tucker on “The Thick of It” and “In the Loop” and for roles in “Torchwood” and “The Hour.
The third Scottish actor to play the doctor, his role shouldn’t be a shock to anyone who saw “World War Z” where he played a character called “W.H.O. Doctor.” He’ll bring an intensity and mercurial presence to the Tardis — and quite an age difference with his companion Jenna Coleman. His sly playfulness will work just right as the 12th doctor; he’ll just have to suppress the vulgar Malcolmisms for which he is known. In his first episode, he has to figure out how a dinosaur landed in the Thames in Victorian London. A pre show at 8 p.m. is, of course, hosted by Chris Hardwick.
It’s accompanied by a rather confusing new series “Intruders” (BBC America, 9 p.m.) set in the Pacific Northwest, where a series of seemingly unrelated characters start to have their pupils expand and act strangely. When people start disappearing, it figures that one of the first is the biggest name, Mira Sorvino.
Claire gets hopeful she can time travel home on “Outlander” (Starz, 9 p.m.).
Joey Fatone hosts the new “Parents Just Don’t Understand” (Hub, 7 p.m.) which, despite taking its name from a Fresh Prince song, is actually a reality version of “Freaky Friday,” with parents switching places with their kids for a day. In the first, a boy has to do housework while his mom goes to his football practice.
It’s a rare night when the big three networks are all playing sports, but here it is: NASCAR (ABC, 7:30 p.m.) from Bristol, Tenn., exhibition football with New Orleans at Indianapolis (CBS, 8 p.m.) and Gymnastics Championships (NBC, 8 p.m.).
In the new TV movie “#PopFan” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) a pop star crashes her car in Maine and is taken by an obsessed fan to his secluded lighthouse.
In ArenaBowl XXVII it’s Arizona at Cleveland (ESPN, 8 p.m.).
Reason the beds aren’t being made: “The Ghost Inside My Child” (Lifetime Movie Network, 9 p.m.).
I believe I will quietly bow out of “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” (CMT, 10 p.m.).
Here’s a show that should have hung around a little longer: Joss Whedon’s one-season “Firefly” (Science, 11 p.m.), so beloved it has become a cult classic requiring a new “Firefly 10th Anniversary: Browncoats Unite” (Science, 10 p.m.). The roundtable discussion includes Whedon, and cast members Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau and Adam baldwin, taped at ComicCon last month.
Like “Firefly,” this series came back as a movie, which happens to be making its premium cable premiere tonight, “Veronica Mars” (HBO, 8 p.m.).
After cancer, I think “The Haunting of Valerie Harper” (Lifetime Movie Network, 10 p.m.) won’t be all that scary.
Guessing “Fast & Furious 6” (Cinemax, 10 p.m.) is not so different from the first five.
There’s some kind of inside joke at play when “Groundhog Day” (Sundance, 6:45 and 9 p.m.) repeats.
Ernest Borgnine gets the spotlight all day on Turner Classic Movies with “Go Naked in the World” (6 a.m.), “Season of Passion” (8 a.m.), “The Catered Affair” ( 9: 45 a.m.), “The Bounty Hunter” (11:30 a.m.), “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1 p.m.), “Torpedo Run” (2:30 p.m.), “Ice Station Zebra” (4:15 p.m.), “Marty” (8 p.m.), “Pay or Die” (10 p.m), “The Badlanders” (midnight), “The Wild Bunch” (1:30 a.m.) and “The Split” (4 a.m.). There is also an 2009 interview with the actor, “Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine” (7 p.m.).
In afternoon preseason action, it’s Tampa Bay at Buffalo (NFL, 4:30 p.m.).
Baseball today includes White Sox at Yankees (MLB, 1 p.m.), Braves at Reds (Fox Sports 1, 7 p.m.) and Angels at A’s (MLB, 10 p.m.).
Two Game 2s in the WNBA playoffs: Indiana at Washington (ESPN2, 5 p.m.) and Minnesota at San Antonio (ESPN2, 7 p.m.).
Jason Isbell and Neko Case play a replay of “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) is the Josh Hutcherson hosted episode with HAIM.